“We have been focused on attracting and serving veterans,” Day-Perroots said.

The U.S. News & World Report list includes rankings of online bachelor’s programs and online master’s degree programs in business, education, engineering and nursing.

To be ranked, a school had to, “demonstrate it took advantage of a wide range of government-backed programs that make credits portable and affordable to people with military experience,” the report said.

It’s not the first time WVU has earned national mention for its commitment to veterans.

It has been named a “Military Friendly School” for four straight years by GIJobs magazine and was ranked 18th in the Military Times’ “Best for Vets” list for 2013. Its business school was ranked 12th in the Military Times’ first “Best for Vets: Business Schools” list for business schools across the U.S.

WVU recently expanded its Yellow Ribbon Program to include graduate programs in the College of Business and Economics. This year, it debuted a section of its online Executive MBA program, which includes 10 representatives from the West Virginia National Guard. In the future, the aim is to create a section made up entirely of veterans.

The Yellow Ribbon program is an extension of the 9/11 GI Bill that pays all in-state tuition and fees at public colleges and university for eligible students. WVU has taken part in the Yellow Ribbon program for undergraduate out-of-state students for years and also includes graduate programs in its School of Public Health, the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. These colleges have funded 100 percent of a student’s portion of out-of-state tuition for the 2012-13 school year. The WVU School of Nursing has funded 75 percent of out-of-state tuition as part of the program.

Another recent initiative is WVU’s adoption of a formal drill guidelines that will allow students who are members of the armed forces to make up work, including tests, that were missed during the semester if they were called up for military training. WVU’s Faculty Senate approved the guidelines in January.

More than 800 veterans, military personnel or their dependents are currently studying at WVU.